Most major European stock markets closed out a choppy session slightly lower, with investors staying on the sidelines ahead of the Federal Reserve minutes due later in the day. Dovish comments from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi did little to pull markets out of their narrow trading ranges.

The S&P 500 gained ground for a fifth consecutive session Wednesday to close at a record as minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting showed broad agreement on plans to begin shrinking the central bank's balance sheet and also pointed to a likely rate increase next month, as widely expected.

Chinese stocks closed higher Wednesday, shaking off losses as initial concerns wore off from Moody's Investors Service's decision to lower the country's credit rating for the first time since 1989. Equities fell more than 1% in early trading in both Shanghai and Shenzhen, with the downgrade reminding investors of China's continued growth in outstanding borrowings-especially among companies.